Facts and Questions

Q. Why filter my finished beer?

A. If you have brewed at least one beer, you have likely seen that homebrew beer is often cloudier or hazier then beer you get from the store. Often it can seem that almost no matter what you do, you still end up with a beer that isn’t as clear or as “bright” as it could be. If this sounds remotely like you, then this is the product for you.

Q. How small should I filter my beer down to?

A. It depends on your beer. As a general rule of thumb, a 5 micron filter is going to remove the majority of yeast from your beer, 1 micron will remove most haze causing particles, and a .5 micron filter will remove almost all chill haze causing particles. Anything less then .5 micron will likely filter out wanted particles that make up the body and flavor of your beer

Q. Why filter your brewing water?

A. Most municipal water supplies use chlorine to disinfect drinking water and prevent bacterial growth and contamination. While this is great for your tap water, it doesn’t go so great with homebrew. It will often leave a nasty tasting phenolic or medicinal taste as well as odor in your beer.

Q. Do I want a basic sediment and chlorine filter, or do I want a reverse osmosis unit?

A. Really up to you based on the type of beer you brew and the level of control that you want. For most people brewing our basic water filtration system is going to work just fine. For those that want the utmost level of control, a reverse osmosis unit is going to be the best route to go. This will give you extremely pure water and allow you to build up your water profile to your wishes. Extract brewers might be especially interested in an RO unit. This is because your extract contains the minerals and water profile of the company that made the malt extract. The water profile remains in the malt extract when it is condensed down. As a result, by using regular or mineral water along with the contents of the malt extract you may end up with a final water profile that is too rich in one component or another.